F pravda



May 30, 1933. F. PRAVDA f 11,911,713

CARRIER FOR PNEUMATIG TUBES AND THE LIKE Filed July 24,- 1930 INVENTOR Frank Pravda, BY l ATTORNEY Patented May 30, 1933 Partnr( rarer;

FRANK rnAvDA, oF nUNnnLnN, NEW innsnv CARRIER FOR PNEUMATIC TUBES AND TI-IE LIKE Application led J'uly 24,

This invention relates toV containers and specilically to carriers Jfor pneumatic tube systems. l

The main object ot my invention is to pro- 5 vide a container or a carrier which may be easily and quickly opened, and closed the same way.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a device ot the character mentioned which will act semi-automatically. Y

Other objects of the invention will be apparent as the specication ot thesame proceeds, and among them are: to provide a device as characterized which will be simple and compact in construction, inexpensive to manufacture and efficient in use.

It is a well known fact that the carriers ot pneumatic 'tube systems used for mails,

in department stores, banks, and other estab- 2@ lishments, are rather awkward and inei'licient in construction, and particularly it requires a comparatively tedious and long` operation to open them and extract their contents, or' to close them after they have been filled.

My invention aims to provide a carrier which normally is closed,but the lid of which may be opened and turnedout of the-way by a very easy operation, and it mainly consists ot a tubular relatively stationary container i and a second tubular container slidable inthe first one, a rotatable post is secured in the bot# tom ot the relatively stationary lower portion ot the carrier, while the slidable upper por-V tion ot said carrier is upwardlyV urged byr a helical spring placed thereunder in the stationary portion ot the device. The post carriles the lid for said slidable upper portion and in the normal position thereof it exactly and tightly closes the upper open end ot said slidable tube. The upper portion. ofy said post, near said lid secured thereon, is flat and a guide device is secured to theV inside of the slidable portion having a slot therein through which said flat portion'can travel'. Saidtl'at portion is twisted at a certain portionv` thereof forming something like a screw thread therein, so that upon the movement ot said flat portion of the post through said slot, thepost', and the lidcarried thereby, will "D be caused to turninwardly or outwardly,

1930. Serial No. 470,269.

respectively. These motions of the lid may be timed to coincide with the normal'and with the downwardly pressed positions of the slidable tube, so that said lid will vclear the carrier, when it isv desired to open the 55. same, and automatically close it after it has been emptied and newly charged.v

Invthe drawing formingr part of this speci# tication and in which similar characters ozt reference relate to similarparts: i Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my device 1n an open position, while Fig. 2is `a central sectional view showing the same in a closed position.

Referring now, more closely, to the draw- 65! ing by characters of reference, the numeral l0 indicates the lower relatively station-ary portion of my device, consisting of a tube 11, and an integral, or if desi-red, a separate bottom 12 forthe same.l *The upper rela# 70? tively movable or slidable portion of the device' consists of a longer inner tube 13 set into thel upper end of the-tube 11,'and a short-v er outside tube 14 is, secured on the upper portionA of said long Vinner tube 13 `r.by rivet-v 75 ing or by, vany other appropriate means (not shown). 4 A strong helicalspring 15 is placed betweenthe tube 13 and thebottom 12, normally urging said tube in an upward direction. The stationary tube 11 has a plural- 8.0 ity of guide slots'16 provided in its circum erenceand guide pieces 17 are secured to the lower end ot the tube 13, said piecesrbeing slidable in the slots 16, not onlyto guide said tube in its motion, but also yto prevent its 85 turning` and to provide upper and lower limits for its sliding motion. v

A post 18 `is loosely and yrotatably secured in the bottom 12, as for example by means of the rivet head 19v and the collar 20, at its 90 lower end and on the two sides of the bottom The upper portion 21 of the post 18'is `flat andi a guide piece 22 is secured on the' inner side of the tube 13 by the rivets 23 thereon, 95 or'by any-appropriate means, and said'V guide piece is provided withV a slot 24:v through which the la't uportion 21 of the post may easily slide. 'Apart 25 of said flat portion is twisted :form-ing a structure similar yto a hel- .1W

18 to make a half turn so that the lid 26 will be turned outwardly freeingithe upper opening of the tube 18,7as shown in Fig. 1. In such a situation the contents of the tube may be easily removed or the same charged and upon releasing the downward pressure on the tube 13 the same will be moved in an opposite' direction to that shown by the arrow 27, under the inuence of the spring 15 and the twisted portion 25 will pass through the slot 24 in a reverse direction, whereby said post will describe a half turn in the reverse direction and the lid 26 will move inwardly into its closed position, shown in Fig. 2.

` Felt cushion disk 28 may be secured to the bottom of the device, having a larger diameter than the lower tube so as to insure a comparatively air tight closure between the tube and the carrier, while at the same time it causes the various tubes described to move through the tube of the pneumatic tube system without touching the same and without undue friction. i

My device maybe made-of tubular bre, metal or any other appropriate material.

It is understood that changes and variations maybe made in the parts and combinations of my inventionr and I hereby reserve all my rights to any and all such changes as may be within the spirit of the invention and thescope of the appended claims.

I also want to remark that upon the pushing downwardly of the tube 13 the contents of the carrier, like papers, etc., will be automatically partially exposed, projecting upwardly, which again greatly aids in emptying or charging the carrier. My vcarrier also may be made substantially shorter than the carriers used at present for the same service and of the same capacity.

What I claim as new, is:

1. In a container, a lower relatively stationary portion, and an upper portion slidable in relation thereto; a lid for said upper portion, and means to open said lidwhen said upper portion is pushed in a downward direction. Y

2; In a container, a lower relatively stationary portion and an upper portion slidable in relationthereto; a lid for said upper portion, means to open said lid when said upper portion is pushed-in a downward direction, and means to normally keep said upper portion in an upwardly pressed position and said lid closed thereon.

3. In a container, a lower relatively stationary portion and an upper portion slidable in relation thereto; a lid for said upper portion, means to open said lid when said upper portion is pushed in a ldownward direction, and means to normally keep said upperrportion in an upwardly pressed position and-said lid-closed thereon, said means to open said lid upon the movement of the upper portion includinga member secured to the said lower relatively stationary portion of the container, said member carrying the lid so `that upon a downward sliding of the upper portion, the upper end thereof will be exposed and the lid lifted therefrom.

4. In a container, a lower relatively stationary portion and an upper portion slidable in relation thereto; a lid for said upper portion, means to open said lid when said upper portion'is pushed in a downward direction, and means to normally keep said upper portion in an upwardly pressed position and said lid closed thereon, said means to open said lid upon the movement of the upper portion including a member secured to the said lower relatively stationary portion of the container,said member carrying the lid so that upon a downward sliding of the upper portion, the upper end thereof will be exposed and the lid lifted therefrom, said member carrying the lid being rotatable and means being interposed between said slidable upper portion and said member whereby the same is turned when said upper portion is downwardly pressed so that said lid will be lifted from said opening and also turned in an outward direction. f

5. A. container, comprising a tubular relatively stationary lower portion and a tubular upper portion slidable in relation to said lower portion; a rotatable post secured in the bottom of said lower portion; resilient means interposed between the bottom of said lower portion and the lower end of saidslidable upper portion normally urging said upper portion in an upward direction; a lid secured to the upper end of said post normally closing the upper-open end of said slidable portion; a lat upper portion for said post and a guide secured to said slidable upper portion of the container having a. slot therein through which said flat portion of the post may travel, Vsaid flat portion also having a twist provided therein whereby said post and said lid will be caused to turnin an outward or in an inward direction, respectively, when said upper portion of the container is caused' to move in a downward or upward direction in relation to said lower portion.

' 6. A container, comprising a tubular relatively stationar'y lower portion and a tubular upper portion slidable iny relationl to said lower portion; a rotatable post secured in the bottoni of said lower portion; resilient means interposed between the bottom of said lower portion and the lower end of said slidable upper portion normally urging said upper portion in an upward direction; a lid secured to the upper end of said post normally closing the upper open end of said slidab-le portion; a Hat upper portion for said post and a guide secured to said slidable upper portion of the container having a slot therein through which said flat portion of the post may travel, said flat portion of the post also having a twist provided therein whereby T5 said post and said lid will be caused to turn in an outward or in an inward direction, respectively, when said upper portion of the container is caused to move in a downward 0r upward direction in relation to said lower portion and guide pieces secured to said slidable portion of the container playing in guide slots provided in said relatively stationary lower part thereof to prevent the relative rotation of said two parts and also to limit the relative movement of the two against one another.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York, and State of VNew York, this 18th day of July, 1930.

FRANK PRAVDA. 

